File associated pinning

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for intelligent data caching behavior. In an embodiment, a method may comprise receiving a read or write command for specific data, determining related data associated with the specific data, and directing the related data be stored to a cache. In another embodiment, a system may comprise a host device, and at least one driver operating on the host device. The at least one driver may be configured to intercept read or write command from the host device to a data storage device regarding specific data, obtain information from the host device to determine associated data related to the specific data, and direct the data storage device to store the associated data to a cache memory.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/440,450, filed Apr. 5, 2012, entitled “File-Aware Caching Driver,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The performance of data storage devices (DSDs) may be limited by the information available to the device from a host system. In some data storage systems, the data storage device receives very limited information from the host, such as file size and a Logical Block Address. Therefore, systems and methods are needed for improving data storage device performance.

SUMMARY

A method may comprise receiving a read or write command for specific data, determining related data associated with the specific data, and directing the related data be stored to a cache.

In another embodiment, a system may comprise a host device, and at least one driver operating on the host device. The at least one driver may be configured to intercept read or write command from the host device to a data storage device regarding specific data, obtain information from the host device to determine associated data related to the specific data, and direct the data storage device to store the associated data to a cache memory.

In another embodiment an apparatus may comprise a data storage device including an interface circuit to communicate with a host, and a processor. The processor may be configured to receive a command from the host via the interface circuit, retrieve file system information related to specific data associated with the command, the file system information retrieved from the host via the interface circuit and including information associated with the command that is not received by the interface circuit as part of the command, determine other data related to the specific data based on the file system information, and store the other data in a cache memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a system for file-associated pinning;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an another illustrative embodiment of a system for file-associated pinning;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a an illustrative embodiment of a data storage device employing file-associated pinning;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an illustrative embodiment of a method for file-associated pinning; and

FIG. 5 is another flowchart of an illustrative embodiment of a method for file-associated pinning.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration of specific embodiments. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Host devices may send data read or write requests to data storage devices in the form of structured input/output (I/O) commands or requests. As used herein, a structured command is a command defined by an interface-standard command format, such as a read or write command of a data storage interface standard (such as SATA). A structured command must be in the form of a data structure compatible with the interface of a data storage device. Operating system information (or file system information), such as information specific to files or operation threads, may not be included as part of the structured I/O command request. A thread may be a unit of processing on an operating system, such that a single application may consist of numerous threads running simultaneously.

Data storage devices may benefit from receiving additional information about a file or I/O operation thread from a host system. This may be improved by using drivers to communicate between devices. Drivers can be computer programs designed to facilitate communication or interaction between applications or other programs and hardware devices (e.g. between a host computer application and a data storage device). A kernel may be a part of the operating system that acts as a “bridge” between computer applications and the hardware devices of a system, such as the CPU, memory, and other hardware components. In some embodiments, systems may be improved by a system of drivers operating in the kernel of the host operating system to collect or retrieve data about a file or input/output (I/O) operation thread, and associate corresponding caching attributes with the file or operation. The data storage device can use the caching attributes set by the drivers to make informed decisions regarding files or operations, potentially improving response times, reducing latency, or otherwise improving device performance. As an example, file or thread data could be used to select files or information to store in a system's cache for faster access, and this could include caching files not specifically requested by an I/O operation.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a system for file-associated pinning, generally designated 100. The system 100 may include a host 102 and a data storage device (DSD) 104. The host 102 may also be referred to as the host system or host computer. The host 102 can be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a server, a tablet computer, a telephone, a music player, another electronic device, or any combination thereof. Similarly, the DSD 104 may be any of the above-listed devices, or any other device which may be used to store or retrieve data. The DSD 104 may include a non-volatile data storage medium, such as a solid-state nonvolatile memory or a disc nonvolatile memory. The host 102 and DSD 104 may be connected by way of a wired or wireless connection, or by a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). In some embodiments, the DSD 104 can be a stand-alone device not connected to a host 102, or the host 102 and DSD 104 may both be part of a single unit.

The host 102 can include one or more file-aware drivers (FAD) 106. The FAD 106 may be drivers running in the kernel of the operating system 108 of the host 102 and may facilitate operations between the host 102 and the DSD 104. The FAD 106 can comprise software running on the host device, configurable controllers, or circuits designed to implement the functions described herein. In some embodiments, some or all of the FAD 106 may be incorporated into the DSD 104. For example, a caching policy engine driver could be incorporated on the DSD 104, while a file system filter driver and a table driver could be implemented on the host 102.

When the host 102 transmits a structured input/output (I/O) command to the DSD 104, the FAD 106 can monitor or intercept file activity in the operating system 108, including data about files themselves or the applications or threads utilizing or requesting the files. This file system data may be used by the FAD 106 or DSD 104 to improve performance or operability between the host 102 and the DSD 104. For example, the FAD 106 may send the data to the DSD 104 directly, or use the data to assign caching attributes to the I/O command or associated file. These file system data or caching attributes can be sent to the DSD 104 as part of or separately from the structured I/O command itself. The DSD 104 may use the data or caching attributes to intelligently determine which files to store in a cache for quick access by the host 102.

In some embodiments, caching attributes may include information which the DSD 104 uses to decide which files to cache. For example, the caching attributes may include a value rating, with a highest rating indicating that a file or block of data should almost always be cached, a lower rating indicating that a file is a good candidate to be cached, while a low rating may indicate that a file or block of data is a poor candidate for caching. In some embodiments, caching attributes may comprise specific directions to store or not store a file or block of data to the cache.

FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of a system for file-associated pinning generally designated 200. The system 200 may include one or more file-aware drivers (FAD) 202, a file system 204, and a data storage device (DSD) 206 which can store, retrieve, or modify data file(s) 218. The file system 204 may be the file system of a host device, used for organizing, storing, and retrieving data. Example file systems may include FAT, NTFS, or HFS Plus. The DSD 206 may be any of the devices listed for the data storage device 104, or any other device for data storage.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the file-aware drivers (FAD) 202 may consist of a system of device drivers running in the operating system of a host device, which system may include a file system filter driver 208, a table driver 210, a caching policy engine 212, a device filter driver 214, and an Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) driver 216. In some embodiments, the FAD 202 may be software, one or more programmable controllers, circuits, CPUs, or any combination of elements capable of detecting attributes of file activity within a system and associating these attributes with files or I/O operations in such a way as to affect a behavior of the data storage device 206.

The file system 204 may initiate I/O requests to read or write data to the data storage device 206. The file system filter driver 208 can interact with the file system 204 to intercept or retrieve file activity from the operating system. This may include gathering file system information about file(s) such as the file name, file path, file extension, file size, or logical block addresses (LBAs) for the entire file. The intercepted file system information may also include other information, such as the system power source indicator (e.g. A/C power or battery power), or the name or identifier (e.g. the type of accessing program, such as .exe or .dll) of the accessing executable, other information, or any combination thereof. The file system filter driver 208 may then pass relevant file information to the caching policy engine 212 through the table driver 210.

In some embodiments, the file system filter driver 208 may determine file dependencies, such as files that are called by or along with another file or application. For example, when an application is run, that application may in turn call additional files or applications in order to operate. When a structured I/O request is made for all or a part of a given application, the FAD 202 may determine that other dependent files always or frequently are requested at the same time or in close proximity. The FAD 202 may designate a file or data block as depending from one or more other files, applications, or threads, or having such files, applications or threads depend from the file or data block.

As an example of gathering file information associated with an I/O command, the host operating system may initiate a structured I/O command requesting a block of file data 218 from the DSD 206 using a logical block address (LBA) associated with the block of data. The file system filter 208 may determine the file path and file size of the file associated with the requested data 218, as well as the type of program requesting the data and any dependent or associated files. In one example, this file system information associated with the structured I/O command may be passed along with the data I/O request to the caching policy engine 212 by way of the table driver 210. In addition, the file system filter 208 may determine other information available to a host operating system that is not part of a structured I/O command.

The table driver 210 may maintain the relationship between a file or piece of data 218, the thread ID of the processing thread requesting the input/output (I/O) operation, and the file information from the file system filter driver 208 or the caching attributes set by the caching policy engine 212. In some embodiments, the table driver 210 may only maintain the relationship between the file and the file information, or between the thread ID and the file information. The table driver 210 may maintain these relationships in a table, database, self-contained data packets, other formats, or a combination thereof.

The caching policy engine (CPE) 212 can inspect the information collected by the file system filter driver 214, such as file extension, file size, file path, creation attributes, related or dependent files, and the name of the accessing executable. This information may be sent to the CPE 212 by the table driver 210, or the CPE 212 may independently inspect a table, database, or other data structure maintained by the table driver 210. Upon inspection of the file properties, the CPE 212 can determine whether to set caching attributes for the current file and/or I/O operation thread immediately, or to delay setting caching attributes until later. For example, if file information is unavailable or insufficient at the file system filter driver 208 level, the CPE 212 may request to be called again at the device filter driver 214 level. Furthermore, caching attributes may be set at one or more points in the lifecycle of a file object, such as on first access of the file, subsequent accesses, pre-read, pre-write, or other points. When caching attributes have been set, the table driver 210 may then update to maintain the relationship between the file or operation thread and the caching attributes set by the CPE 212.

The caching attributes set by the CPE 212 can be used to determine which files should be kept available in a system's cache for faster access, or for other operations of the data storage device 206. The CPE 212 may select caching attributes based upon configurable settings. For example, a user of the host system 102 or data storage device 104 may be able to configure which types of attributes, files, or program requests have higher priority for caching purposes, such as prioritizing caching data from I/O operations from .exe executable programs. In an example embodiment, a user may be able to select specific files for storing to cache. In some embodiments, the CPE 212 may have programmed or automatic settings on how to assign caching attributes. In other embodiments, the CPE 212, the system of drivers 202, or the data storage device 206 may be configured to monitor file usage and data access and modify caching policies according to usage.

In some embodiments, users may be able to select or designate files or data to keep in the cache memory. For example, a user may be able to set that a file be stored, or “pinned,” in cache, such as for quick access or higher reliability. Also, the user may select the pinned files be stored in the cache for a set specified period of time (e.g. one week), for a specified period of time since the last time the file was accessed (e.g. kept in the cache for one week after the last access of the file), for other periods or under other criteria, or a combination thereof. A user may designate that specific files should be pinned, or may apply pinning rules to classes of file or data. For example, a user may specify that all .doc word processor documents should be stored in cache for three days after their last access, or that all files stored in a certain directory are stored in cache. Such user selections and designations can control or influence the functioning of the file-aware drivers to affect the caching behavior of a data storage device.

If the caching attributes have already been set by the caching policy engine (CPE) 212, the device filter driver 214 may retrieve the caching attributes from the table driver 210. If the CPE 212 has not yet set the caching attributes, the device filter driver 214 may request caching attributes from the CPE 212 through the table driver 210. The device filter driver 214 may provide any additional available information to the CPE 212 to facilitate the selection of caching attributes. Once selected, the device filter driver 214 can pass the caching attributes to the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) driver 216. Depending on the type of ACHI driver 216 in the system, the device filter driver 214 may do this by placing the caching attributes into a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) Request Block (SRB), a Command Descriptor Block, or other block of data and instructions for the data storage device (DSD) 206 recognized by the AHCI driver 216.

The Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) driver 216 can receive the caching attributes from the device filter driver 214. If the caching attributes were sent as part of an SCSI Request Block (SRB) or similar data block, the AHCI driver 216 can copy out the attributes. The AHCI driver may then pass the caching attributes to the data storage device 206. As an example, the AHCI driver 216 may copy the caching attributes into a Frame Information Structure (FIS), which is a block of data for Direct Memory Access (DMA) reads and writes. The caching attributes may be sent to the data storage device separate from the structured I/O command issued by the host.

After receiving the caching attributes, the data storage device 206 may use the attributes to determine caching behavior or for other functions. For example, it may use the caching attribute values to determine a priority for caching data, with certain caching attribute values resulting in immediate or high-priority caching, and other values resulting in low-priority caching.

The system of FAD 202 depicted in FIG. 2 is an illustrative embodiment only, and it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the functions described could be performed by more or fewer drivers, or that some functionality could be implemented as part of the data storage device rather than in the host system. For example, a single driver could perform all the functions of obtaining file information, assigning caching attributes, maintaining an association table, and passing the information to a data storage device. Alternately, drivers could obtain file information and pass it to a data storage device, where caching attributes would then be selected. In other embodiments, file system information could be determined and stored in a table on the host. The data storage device could access and retrieve the file system information from the host and set caching attributes based on the file system information. Removing, adding, consolidating, or restructuring the drivers could eliminate the need for some functions or behaviors described herein, or add additional requirements.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of another illustrative embodiment of a system for file-associated pinning, generally designated 300. Specifically, FIG. 3 provides a functional block diagram of a disc drive data storage device (DSD) 300. The DSD 300 may be a data storage device such as the device 104 shown in FIG. 1. The data storage device 300 can communicate with a host device 302 (such as the host system 102 shown in FIG. 1) via a hardware/firmware based host interface circuit 304 that may include a connector (not shown) that allows the DSD 300 to be physically removed from the host 302. The buffer 312 can temporarily store user data during read and write operations and can include a command queue (CQ) 313 where multiple pending access operations can be temporarily stored pending execution. A nonvolatile solid state memory 303, such as Flash memory, can be included for additional cache or buffer memory, or to provide additional addressable data storage for the DSD 300. The DSD 300 can include a programmable controller 306 with associated memory 308 and processor 310. In some embodiments, the controller 306 may also include file-aware drivers (FAD) 314, or elements to perform one or more functions describes for FAD herein, such as using file information from the host 302 operating system to assign caching attributes.

Further, FIG. 3 shows the DSD 300 can include a read/write (R/W) channel 317, which can encode data during write operations and reconstruct user data retrieved from disc(s) 309 during read operations. A preamplifier/driver circuit (preamp) 318 can apply write currents to the head(s) 319 and provides pre-amplification of readback signals. A servo control circuit 320 may use servo data to provide the appropriate current to the coil 324 to position the head(s) 319 over the disc(s) 309. The controller 306 can communicate with a processor 322 to move the head(s) 319 to the desired locations on the disc(s) 309 during execution of various pending commands in the command queue 313.

The host 302 (or in some embodiments, the controller 306 or data storage device 300) may be loaded with a system of file-aware device drivers (FAD) 314. The FAD 314 can collect information from the host 302 about files or system threads requesting I/O operations, and use this information to assign caching attributes to the files or threads. These caching attributes may be sent to the DSD 300, which can use the attributes to determine what data should be loaded into the nonvolatile solid-state cache 303. Because data can be accessed from the nonvolatile solid-state cache 303 more quickly than reading the data from the disc(s) 309, intelligent data caching based on the caching attributes may increase the performance and response times of the data storage device 300.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a flowchart of an illustrative embodiment of a method for file-associated pinning is shown and generally designated 400. The depicted method could be used in a system of file-aware drivers such as the system depicted in FIG. 2. The method 400 can involve a host system sending an input or output request (I/O request) to read data from or write data to a data storage device, at 402. The request may originate from an application or program running on the host system, or from a particular application thread.

Once an I/O request has been initiated at 402, the method 400 may involve a file system filter driver intercepting the I/O request and passing information about the request to a table driver, at 404. The information passed by the file system filter driver may be about the file involved in the I/O request (e.g. file path, file extension, file size, or logical block address (LBA)), the requesting application or thread (e.g. the name of the program or type of application, such as .exe or .dll), other information (e.g. whether the system power source is A/C power or battery power), or any combination thereof. The file system filter driver may also instruct the table driver to request caching attributes from a caching policy engine.

The method 400 may next involve the table driver passing the information about the I/O request to a caching policy engine (CPE), and requesting that the CPE select caching attributes, at 406. The table driver may also maintain the relationship between the file involved in the I/O request, the requesting program, and the file information or caching attributes. In some embodiments, the table driver may maintain the relationship between, for example, the requested file and all the file information from the file system filter driver, and then later replace the file information with the caching attributes selected by the CPE. In other embodiments, the table driver may retain all available information even after caching attributes have been selected. In still other embodiments, the table driver may never maintain a list of all the available file information, and may simply pass the information to the CPE and retain only the selected caching attributes. It should be clear to one skilled in the art that the listed examples are illustrative only, and that there are many variations possible for accomplishing the methods disclosed herein that fall within the scope of the present invention.

After receiving information about a file or I/O request, the caching policy engine (CPE) may determine whether the information that has been provided is sufficient to select caching attributes, at 408. For example, certain information may be critical to selecting caching attributes, or may be useful for making optimal caching attribute decisions. The CPE may examine the available information and determine whether it is incomplete or otherwise insufficient to select caching attributes at this point. Whether the file information is sufficient may depend on the CPE's setting for selecting caching attributes. The CPE may select caching attributes based on user configurations, pre-programmed settings, file access and usage analysis, other factors, or any combination thereof.

If the CPE determines that the file information is insufficient at 408, the CPE may delay the selection of caching attributes until a later point, at 410. For example, the CPE may request to be called again by another driver in the system of drivers, such as the device filter driver. In such an embodiment, if the I/O request reaches the device filter driver level and the CPE has elected to delay the selection of caching attributes, the device filter driver may request the selection of caching attributes at 412. At 412, the device filter driver may also pass additional information about the I/O request or file to the CPE by way of the table driver. The device filter driver may have access to information not previously available to the CPE, or new information may otherwise have become available to the system of file-aware drivers that could aid in the selection of caching attributes. In some embodiments, new information may not be available or necessary, and caching attributes could be selected based on file size, logical block address(es) (LBAs), or other available information.

Once the CPE receives sufficient file information, it may select caching attributes to assign to the thread and/or file involved in the I/O request, at 414. The selection of caching attributes can occur if the initial file information provided to the CPE was sufficient at 408, or if the CPE delayed caching attribute selection until it was called at a later point, such as by the device filter driver at 412. The table driver may update the relation between the thread and/or requested file and the caching attributes.

Once caching attributes have been selected, the device filter driver may receive the attributes from the table driver and pass them to the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) driver at 416. The device filter driver may pass the caching attributes by placing them into a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) Request Block (SRB), a Command Descriptor Block, or other block of data and instructions for the data storage device (DSD).

The AHCI driver may then pass the I/O request along with the corresponding caching attributes to the DSD, at 418. The I/O request and the caching attributes may be sent as a single command or data structure, or they may be passed to the DSD separately. The AHCI can accomplish this by putting the information into a data structure compatible with the architecture of the DSD. For example, the AHCI driver may copy the caching attributes into a Frame Information Structure (FIS) data block for Direct Memory Access (DMA) reads and writes. The DSD may then use the caching attributes to determine caching behavior or for other functions.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a flowchart of an illustrative embodiment of a method for file-associated pinning is shown and generally designated 500. The method 500 may involve a system of file-aware drivers (FAD) intercepting a structured I/O request regarding a file, and gathering file system information about the file, at 502. The FAD may make a determination as to whether the file should be pinned to a cache memory, at 504. For example, the FAD may determine that any user-executed application should be pinned, or any file below a threshold size.

If a determination is made that the file should not be pinned at 504, the FAD may set caching attributes for the file or requesting thread to indicate that the file should not be pinned, at 506, and the method may end, at 514.

If a determination is made that the file should be pinned at 504, the FAD may set caching attributes indicating that the file should be pinned to cache memory, at 508. The FAD may then determine whether the file involved with the structured I/O request has any associated or related dependent files, at 510. Dependent files may include other files associated or related with the file of the structured I/O request.

In an example embodiment the I/O request may be to load an application, and dependencies may include static dependencies, such as files required for the application to run, or dynamic dependencies, such as files required for the use of some features of the application but not otherwise required for the application to run. Some examples of static dependencies may include .dll files required to run a .exe application.

In another example embodiment, dependencies may include files associated with the requested file in other ways. In an embodiment, the FAD may monitor a usage history of files called in close proximity. For example, if a specific word processor document is frequently accessed soon after the word processor application, the document may be determined to be a dependency of the application. There may be some threshold likelihood of usage within a certain period of time or a certain number of file operations. For example, files may be flagged as dependents of a specific file if they are called within 30 seconds of the specific file equal to or greater than 70% of the time. In another embodiment, a file may be flagged as a dependent if it is called within 3 data reads of a specific file at least 70% of the time.

In another embodiment, all files within the same file system folder or directory tree as the file of the structured I/O request may be flagged as dependencies. In some embodiments, File A and File B may be dependencies of each other, with File B being a dependency of File A, and File A being a dependency of File B, such that a call for either file would flag the other as a dependency for pinning. Other criteria and factors may be used in determining dependencies.

The existence of dependencies may be determined by analyzing a header of an application, which may list or link dependent files, such as static or dynamic dependencies. The FAD may also obtain file attributes from the host operating system indicating the existence of dependencies, such as dependencies based on files sharing a file system folder location or directory tree. A usage history indicating a likelihood of proximate use may be maintained by the FAD, the DSD, or by other components.

If a determination is made that the file of the structured I/O request does not have dependencies at 510, the method 500 may end at 514. If a determination is made that the file does have dependencies at 510, the FAD may set caching attributes indicating that the dependencies should also be pinned, at 512. In some embodiments, the FAD may independently send a command to the DSD to pin the dependencies to a cache memory, or the FAD may flag the dependencies for pinning when the dependencies are next called by the host as part of a structured I/O request. In some embodiments, the FAD may update a table with file system information indicating that the dependencies should be pinned, and the DSD may be able to access the table to determine files to pin. The method 500 may then end, at 514.

In accordance with various embodiments, the methods described herein may be implemented as one or more software programs running on a computer processor or controller. In accordance with another embodiment, the methods described herein may be implemented as one or more software programs running on a computing device, such as a personal computer that is using a disc drive. Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays, and other hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement the methods described herein. Further, the methods described herein may be implemented as a computer readable medium including instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform the methods.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of the various embodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Moreover, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangement designed to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown.

This disclosure is intended to cover any and all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the description. Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, while other proportions may be reduced. Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative and not restrictive. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a host device configured to: connect to a data storage device; initiate read and write commands directed to the data storage device regarding specific data, a read command directing the data storage device to return the specific data to the host from a memory of the data storage device, a write command directing the data storage device to store the specific data to a memory of the data storage device; at least one driver operating in a kernel of an operating system of the host device and configured to facilitate communication between host applications and the data storage device, including: monitor a file system of the host device for the read and write commands directed to the data storage device; intercept the read and write commands to initiate a process separate from input/output (I/O) processing of the read and write commands, the process including: obtain information from the host device to determine associated data related to the specific data; and direct the data storage device to store the associated data to a cache memory of the data storage device.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising the data storage device including the cache memory, the cache memory including a non-volatile solid state memory.
 3. The system of claim 1, the at least one driver further configured to: determine whether the specific data should be stored to the cache memory; and determine the associated data when the specific data should be stored to the cache memory.
 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising: the specific data comprises a software application; and the associated data comprises files used in the execution of the software application.
 5. The system of claim 1, the associated data comprising one or more files in a related file system directory as the specific data or with a threshold likelihood of being requested within a certain proximity to the specific data based on a file access history.
 6. A device comprising: a data storage device including: an interface circuit to communicate with a host; a processor configured to: receive read and write commands regarding specific data from the host via the interface circuit, a read command directing the data storage device to return the specific data to the host from a memory of the data storage device, a write command directing the data storage device to store the specific data to a memory of the data storage device; retrieve file system information from the host via the interface circuit that is related to the specific data, the file system information including information associated with the read or write command that is not received by the interface circuit as part of the read and write commands; determine other data related to the specific data based on the file system information; and store the other data in a cache memory of the data storage device.
 7. The device of claim 6, the processor further configured to: determine whether to store the specific data to the cache memory based on the file system information; and determine the other data when the specific data should be stored to the cache memory.
 8. The device of claim 6, further comprising: the cache memory and a nonvolatile data storage medium, and the data storage device is removable from the host; and the processor further configured to initiate a process separate from input/output processing of the read and write commands, the process including retrieving the file system information, determining the other data, and storing the other data.
 9. The device of claim 6, wherein the file system information includes a file name, a file path, a file extension, a file size, a power source indicator, a type of program requesting the specific data, or logical block addresses for data other than the specific data.
 10. A system comprising: a host device configured to connect to a data storage device, the host device including: a processor configured to execute an operating system, the operating system initiating read and write commands directed from the host to the data storage device, where a read command directs the data storage device to return the specific data to the host from a memory of the data storage device, and a write command directs the data storage device to store the specific data to a memory of the data storage device; a memory accessible by the processor, the memory storing drivers configured to run in a kernel of the operating system, the drivers including: a file system filter driver executable by the processor to: monitor a file system of the host device for the read and write commands; intercept the read and write commands to initiate a process separate from input/output (I/O) processing of the read and write commands, the process including:  access a file system of the host device to obtain file system information related to the specific data;  determine related data associated with the specific data based on the file system information; a caching policy engine driver executable by the processor to determine caching attributes for the specific data and the related data based on the file system information; and the processor configured to provide the caching attributes to the data storage device to control data cached at the data storage device, the caching attributes provided in a separate communication from the read and write commands.
 11. The system of claim 10 further comprising: the memory further storing: a table driver executable by the processor to maintain a table relating the specific data, the file system information related to the specific data, and the caching attributes set for the specific data.
 12. The system of claim 10 further comprising: the memory further storing: a device filter driver executable by the processor to: obtain additional information related to the specific data from the data storage device; and the caching policy engine driver executable by the processor to set the caching attributes based on the file system information and the additional information.
 13. The system of claim 10 further comprising: the memory further storing: an advanced host controller interface (AHCI) driver executable by the processor to: include the caching attributes into an interface command block structure; and the processor configured to transmit the caching attributes to the data storage device via the AHCI driver using the interface command block structure.
 14. The system of claim 13 further comprising: the processor configured to transmit the caching attributes to the data storage device separate from the read or write command.
 15. The system of claim 10 further comprising: the caching policy engine driver executable by the processor to: determine whether the specific data should be cached based on the file system information; set the caching attributes to direct the data storage device to cache the specific data when the determination is made that the specific data should be cached; and set the caching attributes to direct the data storage device not to cache the specific data when the determination is made that the specific data should not be cached.
 16. The system of claim 15 further comprising the file system filter driver executable by the processor to determine the related data when the caching policy engine driver determines that the specific data should be cached.
 17. The system of claim 10, further comprising the related data includes one or more files used in the execution of the specific data.
 18. The system of claim 10, the related data comprising one or more files with at least a threshold likelihood of being requested within a certain proximity to the specific data based on a file access history.
 19. The system of claim 18, further comprising the certain proximity indicating a certain period of time between a request for the specific data and a request for the related data.
 20. The system of claim 18, further comprising the certain proximity indicating a certain number of data requests between a request for the specific data and a request for the related data. 